Richard III Tomb Design Sparks Controversy

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Of course England's most controversial king couldn't be reburied
without a fight.

The rediscovered bones of Richard
III are set to be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral in
England next year. But, displeased with the church's newly
unveiled tomb design, some members of the Richard III Society are
reportedly pulling their funds from the medieval king's reburial.

"They think it is a very difficult design," Langley was quoted as
saying this week. "The feeling is that it is too modern and
stylized, and designed with a cathedral in mind — not a medieval
warrior king. I pretty much agree with them."

Richard
III, the last king of the House of York, ruled England from
1483 until 1485. He was killed by the rival forces of Henry Tudor
at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the definitive fight that ended
the War of Roses.

The slain king was given a hasty burial at Grey Friars monastery
in Leicester, which was later demolished and lost to history. An
archaeological dig last year, led by the University of Leicester,
uncovered the ruins of the monastery and the king's
battle-scarred skeleton.

Now the Leicester Cathedral is seeking approval for its £1.3
million ($2 million) proposal to rebury Richard in a more regal
fashion. Their grave design includes a raised limestone coffin
with a deeply carved cross, placed over a carving of a large
white rose, the heraldic symbol of the House of York.

According to the BBC, the Richard III Society had pledged about
£40,000 ($64,536) to the reburial. The chair of the group,
Phil Stone, called the design "utterly inspired" when it was
unveiled last week.

"The designs
for the reinterment of King Richard III which have been
submitted to the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England are the
result of intensive discussion with many parties, including the
Richard III Society, and take a wide range of factors into
consideration," Peter Hobson, acting canon missioner for
Leicester Cathedral told LiveScience in an email.

"We are aware of funds collected by the Richard III Society to
contribute towards the costs of a tomb but whether and how these
are offered to the Cathedral is entirely a matter for them to
decide," Hobson added. "No money has either been promised or
expected at this stage and it would be quite wrong for us to have
arrived at our designs influenced by the offer of financial
contributions from any particular direction."

The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England will decide whether
to approve the proposal by the end of October and is accepting
public comment on the design until Oct. 10.

Meanwhile, there is still a legal battle lingering over whether
Richard should even be buried in Leicester at all. A group called
the Plantagenet Alliance, whose members claim to be distant
relatives of the dead king, says
Richard would have wanted to be buried in York, a city where
the monarch spent about a third of his life. The group has
challenged the University of Leicester's exhumation certificate,
basing their argument on alleged human rights violations. They
were granted a judicial review.

An online petition to the British government asking for Richard
III to be buried in York Minster garnered more than 31,000
signatures before it closed this week, according to the
Telegraph.